The Bulgarian Constitutional Court voted on Friday (27 July) to declare the Istanbul Convention unconstitutional. The Convention is the first instrument in Europe to create a comprehensive framework for the protection of women and girls from all forms of violence.

With no major faux pas or any ground-breaking policy change to speak of, Bulgaria’s first term as EU President is unlikely to go down in the annals of history. Yet Sofia can nevertheless look back on its six months in office with a sense of satisfaction, writes Vladislava Gubalova.

The European Union agreed a compromise on Tuesday (26 June) whereby it would open negotiations to join the bloc with Albania and Macedonia in June next year, provided a string of conditions on rule of law, crime and corruption are met.

French lawyers will file a complaint against Bulgaria and ask the European Commission to start an infringement procedure for inhumane treatment of asylum seekers by the country’s authorities, the Green/EFA group announced on Tuesday (26 June).

Jean-Claude Juncker's invitation to a handful of EU leaders for an informal mini-summit on Sunday (27 June) to discuss migration and asylum appears to have raised more issues than the meeting can solve.

The case of Penka the cow got the unprecedented attention of the world media, so much so that a Bulgarian columnist wrote it had outshone the official highlights of the country’s EU Presidency. But it was mostly used by British tabloids, which turned it into a symbol of the blatant bureaucracy imposed by Brussels.

Russia's ambassador to the EU, Vladimir Chizhov, met with journalists in Brussels on Tuesday (5 June) to promote this summer's FIFA World Cup in Russia, using the opportunity to deliver a number of messages to the EU and its leaders.

EU interior ministers meet today (5 June) to try to break a two-year deadlock over reforming asylum rules with a deadline looming and pressure from Italy’s new populist leaders. The ministers will hear Bulgaria’s new compromise proposals on how to...

Although newly crunched numbers make a strong case for setting a higher energy efficiency target, EU member states were unable to sign up to a compromise on Wednesday (30 May) that would have sealed an agreement before the end of Bulgaria’s presidency.

Annual summits between China and central and eastern European countries are beneficial to the European Union as a whole, the Chinese government told Bulgaria's foreign minister, brushing off concerns that Beijing is seeking to divide the continent.

The European Union pledged fresh funds for the Western Balkans on Thursday (17 May) to help its transport and digital infrastructure, renewable energy and education efforts. It also agreed to work closely on "security challenges". But talk of further EU enlargement remained elusive.

The European Union's top official launched a stinging attack Wednesday (16 May) on President Donald Trump, slamming his "capricious assertiveness" and saying the US leader acted more like an enemy than a friend.

A broad European military strategy involving Britain after Brexit has started to take shape with France at its centre, often in negotiations far from the Brussels spotlight and, in one top-level EU meeting, without the UK defence minister.

What is in the food that we buy? It’s a question whose answer is less certain than it should be. Shockingly, many food manufacturers find it acceptable to sell their food with standard packaging throughout the EU, but with very different content, and often lower quality, in different countries, writes Lilyana Pavlova.

The European Commission reserves the right to approve the final financial report and to audit the expenses of an EU-funded youth conference that took place in Sofia on 17-19 April, a Commission official who asked not to be named told EURACTIV.

Representatives of the European Youth Forum have expressed outrage at the way the EU Bulgarian Presidency organised an EU-sponsored youth event in Sofia last week, pointing out a perfunctory approach, mismanagement and inappropriate behaviour on the part of government officials.

The European Parliament is holding its ground on its controversial proposal to lower the costs of international phone calls within the EU, one week before a make-or-break round of negotiations on a sweeping telecoms bill.

The EU wants to prove that its climate action credentials are genuine, which means being top of the class in taking the Paris Agreement seriously. That could all hinge on a series of meetings scheduled for next month. So no pressure then…